New, bigger Moomin mugs now available in the Moomin Shops

The first four Teema-shaped Moomin mugs, Green, Blue, Rose and Yellow, came for sale in the fall of 1990. The mugs were illustrated by illustrator-ceramist Tove Slotte, who began designing Arabia’s Moomin dishes in 1989 and is the illustrator of the Moomin mugs still today. The production of the mugs Blue and Yellow ended in 1996, and they have since become sought-after collector’s items.

The popular Moomin mugs are known throughout the world in the 0.3-litre size. People have requested a bigger size for the mugs, and in autumn 2021, Arabia introduced the mugs Yellow and Blue in a new size of 0.4 litres. 

Illustrations from Tove Jansson’s comic strip stories and novels

The illustrations on the Yellow and Blue Moomin mugs are based on Tove Jansson’s comic strip stories and novels. When designing the original Yellow and Blue mugs, Slotte removed speech bubbles from comic strips and arranged the black-and-white illustrations on a coloured background. Now, Slotte has rearranged the original design to fit the bigger mug size.

The Yellow mug depicts Moominmamma in her daily chores. She saws firewood, serves coffee and whittles a bark boat from a piece of wood. Moominmamma is hard-working, caring and creative. The original artwork for the mug is from the comic strip #18 Moomin and the Golden Tail (1958) and the novels Moominsummer Madness (1954) and Moominpappa at Sea (1965).

The Blue mug shows the entire Moomin family making art. The illustrations are a collection of pictures from several Moomin novels and comic strip stories, including the logo Tove Jansson drew for the cover of the comic strip books. The same picture is still being used in the bottom stamp of Arabia’s Moomin products. 

Mugs now available

The mugs came for sale first in K-Citymarkets in Finland, and starting December 2021 they have also been internationally available in the Official Moomin webshops.